Scott Myers

Interview [Written]: John Arends

An interview with John Arends by Kate Hagen over at the Black List. We spoke to John Arends, writer of TRICE. John participated in the 2014 Black List minilab in Las Vegas, and was chosen as one of two finalists for the NFL/The Company partnership on the site. He’

Daily Dialogue — April 4, 2015

“I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream. I scream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream.

You don’t need to spend a dime to learn the craft of screenwriting

From time to time, I like to remind readers of this simple fact: You don’t need to spend a dime to learn the craft of screenwriting. If you devote any time trolling the online universe of script consultants and screenwriting ‘gurus’, this is likely a message you will never

Interview (Part 5): Destin Daniel Cretton

This week, we are reading and analyzing the script Short Term 12, so I thought it would be a good idea to reprise my October 2013 interview writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton. One of my favorite movies of 2013 is Short Term 12, so I was understandably excited when its

Script Analysis: “Short Term 12” — Part 5: Takeaways

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Sequences Thursday: Psychological Journey Friday: Takeaways Today: Takeaways. This

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month (2015)

An annual series I run every April: 30 story ideas I collect from news sources over the course of the year. These ideas are free for you to use, but more importantly, the series is a reminder about how important the story’s central concept is to the success of

Movie Trailer: “Boychoir”

Written by Ben Ripley Stet, a troubled and angry 11-year-old orphan from a small Texas town, ends up at a Boy Choir school back East after the death of his single mom. Completely out of his element, he finds himself in a battle of wills with a demanding

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 3

This is the sixth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one: Being able to generate original story ideas sets you

Great Character: Annie Walker (“Bridesmaids”)

The Great Character theme for the month: Women Written by Women. Today: Annie Walker from the 2011 movie Bridesmaids, written by Kristen Wiig and Annie Mumolo. From around my own region of the map in Rochester New York, to downstate in the bright New York City lights of Saturday Night

Daily Dialogue — April 3, 2015

“If you decided to marry a foreigner, you will suffer.” — My Darling is a Foreigner (2010), screenplay by Satomi Ôshima, manga by Saori Oguri The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Foreigner. Trivia: The role of the teacher who teaches Saori English at a school (while Tony and his friends

What is the third origin story about The Joker’s scars in The Dark Knight?

This week in my Character Development Keys class, yet another stellar session, our study script is The Dark Knight. In one of the many forum discussions, we were analyzing the story’s Nemesis figure: The Joker. The subject came up about the two stories Joker tells about his scars. The

Interview (Part 4): Destin Daniel Cretton

This week, we are reading and analyzing the script Short Term 12, so I thought it would be a good idea to reprise my October 2013 interview writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton. One of my favorite movies of 2013 is Short Term 12, so I was understandably excited when its

Spec Script Deal: “Septillion to One”

OddLot Entertainment acquires romantic comedy spec script “Septillion to One” written by Adam R. Perlman and Graham Sack. From Deadline: An over-zealous former FBI agent who has been relegated to the fraud unit of the Texas State Lottery begins investigating a beautiful and shrewd woman who had inexplicably defied

Script Analysis: “Short Term 12” — Part 4: Psychological Journey

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Sequences Thursday: Psychological Journey Friday: Takeaways Today: Psychological Journey.

Movie Trailer: “Dope”

Written by Rick Famuyiwa A coming of age comedy/drama for the post hip hop generation. Malcolm is a geek, carefully surviving life in The Bottoms, a tough neighborhood in Inglewood, CA filled gangsters and drugs dealers, while juggling his senior year of college applications, interviews and the SAT. His

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 2

This is the sixth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. Here’s another one: The only way to find a great story idea

The Business of Screenwriting: Everything you wanted to know about specs [Part 2]

Spec scripts, that is. I’m guessing that perhaps 90% of the people who follow this blog at some point in their lives will write a spec script. And the other 10% are involved in buying and selling them. In light of that fact, last year I interviewed a top

Daily Dialogue — April 2, 2015

“Taster’s Choice. Decaffeinated. Maxwell House. El Pico. Chock Full O’Nuts. Espresso. Cappuccino. Sanka. Folgers. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. Coffee. COFFEE. COFFEE!!!” — Moscow on the Hudson (1984), written by Paul Mazursky, Leon Capetanos The Daily Dialogue theme for the week: Foreigner. Trivia: Second of four writing collaborations of Leon Capetanos

Be Polite / Bring the Fight

A guest post from screenwriter Tom Benedek (Cocoon): I learned a new word yesterday. Paskudnyak. Actually, it is a very old word. Its meaning is as ancient as time itself. Here’s one definition: Yiddish insult. THE most potent and offensive insult known to man. it has so much connotation

Announcing: The Black List Table Reads podcast with Franklin Leonard

Just announced today: Midroll Media, the leading digital media company providing a 360-degree suite of podcast production, distribution, and monetization services to artists, entertainers, and thought leaders, announces its spring rollout of four brand new shows, Spontaneantion with Paul F. Tompkins, CARDBOARD! with Rich Sommer, The Black List Table

Interview (Part 3): Destin Daniel Cretton

This week, we are reading and analyzing the script Short Term 12, so I thought it would be a good idea to reprise my October 2013 interview writer-director Destin Daniel Cretton. One of my favorite movies of 2013 is Short Term 12, so I was understandably excited when its

Script Analysis: “Short Term 12” — Part 3: Sequences

Reading scripts. Absolutely critical to learn the craft of screenwriting. The focus of this weekly series is a deep structural and thematic analysis of each script we read. Our daily schedule: Monday: Scene-By-Scene Breakdown Tuesday: Major Plot Points Wednesday: Sequences Thursday: Psychological Journey Friday: Takeaways Today: Sequences. A

Movie Trailer: “Southpaw”

Screenplay by Kurt Sutter, Richard Wenk A boxer fights his way to the top, only to find his life falling apart around him. IMDb Release Date: 31 July 2015 (USA)

A Story Idea Each Day for a Month — Day 1

This is the sixth year in a row I’ve run this series in April. Why a story idea each day for the month? Several reasons which I’ll work my through during this series of posts. For today, the most basic one: If you have aspirations of becoming a

Spec Script Deal: “Mulan”

Disney acquires period drama spec script “Mulan” written by Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek. From THR: Disney bought a script by writing team Elizabeth Martin and Lauren Hynek that centers on the Chinese legend of Hua Mulan, the female warrior who was the main character in Disney’s 1998 animated